


Late Summer Nights

by sayorseee



Category: Z-O-M-B-I-E-S (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, F/M, Jane Eyre References, Not a slow burn because zeddison are always madly in love, They’re idiots your honour, camp counselors, however there is much stuttering and stammering and awkwardness, its the last book I’ve read and it fits!, unfortunately
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:21:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29272413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sayorseee/pseuds/sayorseee
Summary: Addison Wells has no idea how she’ll survive a whole summer with Zed Necrodopolis, the guy she’s been crushing on for as long as she can remember. Instead of having a phenomenal time, spending the summer with her best friends and being the kick-ass counselor she’d always dreamt of being, she’s a stumbling mess everything he’s around.And he’s around a lot.
Relationships: Zed Necrodopoulus/Addison Wells
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Late Summer Nights

Sleepy time tea was never Addison’s favorite, but it’s currently a must if she wants to fall asleep at two in the afternoon. The tea brews in the corner of the Big House, the three story house at the front of Camp Shadow Lake, where all the adult supervisors slept. It was the only building (beside the Mess Hall) that had air conditioning, that none of the “Shadowites” (aka campers) were allowed in and also technically neither were the counselors. The only times were when they had “Night Duty” or were getting off of it. 

It just so happens that Addison Wells, nineteen year old counselor extraordinaire, is on “Night Duty.” 

All the Shadowites are in the mess hall for lunch, with the adult supervisors and coordinators, as well as the other counselors. All except Addison, Eliza and Wyatt who had been on Night Duty last night and had just woken up. They were all eating lunch together before they swapped. 

Which reminds her of her partner for Night Duty. They always assign a girl and a guy counselor to Night Duty, where they’d stay up all night in the large gazebo between the nine cabins, making sure no one snuck out and being the “adult supervision” in case of an emergency (like medication). 

Addison got the fourth day of every week, with none other than Zed Necrodopolis. Tall, hunky, hot, athletic Zed Necrodopolis. They’d gone to high school together but never interacted. Zed got “Best Eyes'' their senior year, but she honestly thought he deserved every superlative and more. Everything about him was great. Amazing. Perfect. 

Every person with an interest in men could see how attractive he was, and it didn’t help that he was the sweetest, goofiest guy in the world. If you googled “perfect man,” a picture of Zed would probably come up. 

He was tall and a mix of lean and muscular. His arms? In a tank top? God… And he had the sweetest, biggest smile, and the most gorgeous brown eyes that lit up so spectacularly when he got happy. 

And he’s  _ way _ out of her league. 

If he were a freshly ripe apple, she’d be the lowly ant at the bottom of the hill that doesn’t have the ability or skill or…whatever, to eat from the apple. 

And he’s sitting right next to her. Him and Eliza are pals from way before high school, and are talking and laughing it up. Even Wyatt gets in on their banter. And Addison just sits there awkwardly, eating her BLT as quietly as she can. She’s never felt more excluded at her favorite place in the world.

Long,  _ long _ ago, Addison herself was a Shadowite, for the two years she was eligible. She loved camp for hundreds of reasons, starting with how much she hated being around her parents at 13/14, ending with the whole camp taking up a month and a half of her entire summer, and including her meeting her best friends in the whole world there (Wyatt, his twin sister Willa Lykensen, their cousin Wynter, and Bree who wasn’t related to the Lykensen’s in any capacity). 

She really loves Camp Shadow Lake, which is why she came back as a counselor once she was old enough. And dragged her friends with her. 

Except instead of having a phenomenal time and goofing off with her friends and being the kick-ass mentor she’d always dreamed of being, she’s completely flustered because of a hot guy she’s had a crush on for forever. 

Zed (and Wyatt and Eliza) laugh at whatever it is they’re talking about, the sound stirring her from her thoughts. And pushing her into a whole new spiral of thoughts. She’s never been this close to Zed (he was kind of untouchable), even during the week of training they’d done before the kiddies arrived. Point being, she’s never noticed how nice his laugh was. 

He’s so cute, and handsome and hot and—she’s so screwed. No way she could act normal around him all night. Which was so not like her. Back in her high school days, she’d become assistant captain her sophomore year, captain the next year, an ambassador all four years. She was  _ great _ with people. It was just...Zed. 

Speaking of...he turns and looks at her, raising his eyebrow. Panic floods her because she hasn’t been listening since Zed sat down with them...and now it looks like they were asking her something. 

“Addison?” Zed asks. 

She swallows nervously. She really likes the way he says her name. “Uh, yes?” 

And then they laugh, and her cheeks flush because clearly that was not the right answer. And now they’re mocking her, laughing at her and her stupidity. This isn’t how her and Zed’s first interaction was supposed to go. 

Six escape plans are already forming in her head, half a eulogy for her funeral because she’s clearly dying of embarrassment, but then Zed smiles at her and her mind goes blank. “Why do you wanna be a counselor?” he asks. 

Oh. Is that what they’d been talking about this whole time? 

She shrinks into herself under all their unwavering (and amused) gazes. What is going on with her today? A cute boy sits with her and suddenly she’s as shy as nine year old Addison on her first day of cheer camp!

“I-I used to come here as a kid,” she answers. “And I really...really wanted to come back as a counselor.” She shrugs, looking away from Zed’s prying eyes and to her sandwich. That went terribly. 

“She pushed me into the lake once,” Wyatt says with a hearty laugh. 

Her eyes widen, blood rushing to her cheeks. “I was thirteen!” she cries desperately. It was only because she thought he was cute, something she didn’t want anyone else finding out. Especially not now, six years later, when she was completely over her childhood crush on Wyatt…and moved on to Zed. 

She was just some boy crazy bimbo, wasn't she? Disney would be calling any minute to pick up her life story. Four seasons. Maybe she’d win a Kid’s Choice Award! 

“I always wanted to come here as a kid,” Zed says. It takes her a moment to realize he’s directed it at her. Which only becomes clear when she realizes Eliza and Wyatt are talking over him, to each other, about something else that Addison can’t quite hear. 

“But ya know, my dad didn’t want me away for so long. Plus, my grades were terrible and all of my teachers hated me.” 

She cracks a small smile, a quiet giggle escaping her lips. But only because she can tell he’s kidding on the last part. Kidding in a sense of, cracking a joke. Whether he was telling the truth or not, she wasn’t sure. 

It falls silent between them for a moment too long, the silence stretching out and growing awkward. She pops open her water bottle and starts to slowly drink from it so she has an excuse as to why she’s not talking. All while she racks her brain for what to say while not completely embarrassing herself. 

She puts her bottle down and looks at him briefly, saying quietly, “It’s cool you get to come now though.” 

Zed smiles and nods. “Oh yeah. This is the most fun I’ve had all summer. Even though it’s only been a week.” 

Normally, Addison would jump into a conversation about how much fun camp was. All the cool activities she remembers from when she was a kid and how excited she was to bring those positive experiences to the new campers. 

But her face heats up and she nods instead of saying anything. She averts her eyes and refocuses her attention on her lunch. One thing she knows for sure is that there’s no way she’ll be able to make it through the night shift with him. 

She finishes her sandwich, then gets up to attend to her tea. Zed and Eliza and Wyatt have since restarted their friendly conversation, the same one she's excluded from. Or, more precisely, she’s excluded herself from. Considering Wyatt and Eliza are friends because Eliza is dating his twin sister, and Eliza and Zed are best friends, which makes their little social circles overlap ever just slightly. 

Addison moves from the table to the counter, throwing out her plate and attending to her tea. She pours herself a mug and starts adding in her fixins (milk, sugar, the works). The other counselors get up from the table, saying how lunch is almost over so they gotta head out. Which means that soon, it’ll only be Addison and Zed. 

Wyatt dumps his plate in the trash, then pokes her side. She jumps and squeals and glares at him, more upset for causing the weird noise in front of Zed than anything else. 

He smiles innocently. “See you tonight, Addy Waddy.” 

For the second time that lunch, she gets overcome with the urge to punch him. But then she’ll end up without her job, which she loves, so she just gives him the stink eye. 

“Don’t call me that.” 

Wyatt laughs. He leans in and smirks, glancing behind her. It takes a second for her to realize his eyes wander to Zed. “Good luck with that, Adds,” Wyatt tells her. 

Addison blanches. She can’t believe she’d been  _ that _ obvious. Zed must know she likes him. If Wyatt picked up on her, Zed must have to! Is she really  _ that _ obvious? 

Wyatt either doesn’t notice her sudden panic, or chooses to ignore it. He kisses her cheek and says, “Get some rest, chica, I’ll see you tonight,” then turns and leaves. 

Her lip quivers. The thought of being alone with Zed for the next few minutes terrifies her. Their three second conversation earlier haunts her, the awkwardness still weighing heavy on her chest. And she would have to spend the whole night with him still! 

Wyatt leaves, and Addison turns back to her tea, hoping to avoid having to talk to Zed for as long as possible. Hopefully until night time. Maybe she could avoid him now in the kitchen and sneak off to where she’s supposed to nap, without ever having to interact with him! 

She takes a stirring stick and busies herself with the tea. Eliza and Zed talk on the other side of the kitchen, and Addison prays Eliza stays, at least until Addison can duck out of there and sneak off to her sleeping quarters. 

Things never really work out in her favor though. Eliza calls out a goodbye to both Addison and Zed, then leaves, leaving the two of them, alone, in the kitchen. 

She keeps her head down in an attempt to avoid his eyes and fend off any possible conversation. For a few minutes, there’s nothing but silence. Slightly uncomfortable, but well appreciated silence. To the point where she isn’t even sure if Zed is still there. 

She looks up to check, glancing over her shoulder. Zed stands at the other end of the kitchen counter, leaning against it, his fingers drumming on the edge while he stared off into the space ahead. 

He’s completely spaced out, to the point where Addison stares even harder, wondering what’s going on in his mind. As if he can sense her, he looks over at her with a raised eyebrow. 

“Hey.” 

Addison’s cheeks flush red but it’s too late for her to avert eye contact. 

“H-Hi.” 

A smile slips over his face. “I’m not tired. Tonight’s gonna be fun.” 

She giggles, albeit awkwardly. “My, uh, my mom says not to sleep right after you eat anyway. Gas and heartburn and…yeah.” 

“Like swimming.” 

She nods, then stops. “No…” 

Zed chuckles. “Sleepy time tea?” 

Addison nods. 

“Do you think I can have some too?” 

She nods. She peels her eyes from him and busies herself with fixing him his own cup. “Do you want sugar and milk or anything?” 

“Sure. I’m a sugary drinks kinda guy. Make it extra sweet, like you.” 

Her eyes dart to him just in time to catch his wink. Her eyes widen and her face gets even more hot. With shaking hands, she grabs another mug and starts making another cup of tea, although her mind races, replaying everything that just happened. One thing sticks in her mind above all else: he called her extra sweet!  _ And  _ winked at her. Two insanely good things! 

“You went to Seabrook High, right?” 

Addison nods absentmindedly. 

“Cheerleader?” 

She nods again. Does he remember her? They never talked, or interacted, or anything. 

“How come we never talked? I mean, you seem cool.” 

She glances over at him. She knows why she never talked to him. The big whooping crush she has on him serves as a good enough reason to avoid him. 

But she shrugs instead of saying that, for obvious reasons. 

“You at college?” 

Addison nods. 

“Where?” 

“Shoreside.” 

“No way, I go there too!” 

She gives him a smile, although she already knew that. The big whooping crush on him made her a tiny bit of a stalker. As much stalking one can do when they went to the same high school and now university as the guy they like. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah. I have no idea why. I mean, just taking gen EDs, no major in mind.” 

Addison scoffs. She catches herself saying, “That’s stupid,” before she can stop. She fumbles with the bag of sugar and starts stuttering, “I mean-No, not you—Not you necessarily—I just—“ 

In the next second, Zed practically materializes next to her. His hand falls heavily on her shoulder and she jumps and freezes, both embarrassed by her words and flustered by his touch. 

She looks up at him, panic clear in her eyes. But Zed gives her this oddly comforting smile that has her heart fluttering and stomach turning. 

“Relax, you’re totally right,” he tells her. “But I’d much rather be up there than stuck at home.” 

She nods, swallowing hard. He stands close, really,  _ really  _ close. His hand drops off her shoulder. 

“You know what you’re studying?” Zed asks. 

She blinks, although she thought she nodded. But it’s pretty clear when he just raises an eyebrow at her that she did not answer his question. Like at all. 

“Oh, uh, early childhood education.” 

“That what brings you back here?” 

She nods. Zed nods in return, turning his head forward. 

She stares at his profile for a while too long. He’s hot, like  _ really _ hot. And his lips purse in a  _ very _ kissable way, but also in a way that signifies that he’s lost in thought. At least that’s what she thinks it means. It’s the same face Wyatt and Willa make when they’re doing that weird twin brain thing, like they’re both communicating via telepathy. 

Except Zed doesn’t have a twin. She would know, she’s done a lot of internet stalking. He does have a little sister. Both of them are at Camp Shadow Lake, actually. Zoey Necrodopolis, Cabin 4 (aka Lion Cabin), thirteen years old, in Addison’s Tuesday and Saturday cheer group. Those aren’t things she learned while stalking him, just stuff they tell her about her campers. 

“Your hair is cool,” Zed says quietly. “I never took you as a white hair kinda girl, but it’s dope. Awesome. Pretty. The works.”

He called her pretty. 

She thinks her heart stopped. 

“Thanks,” she mutters. “My parents hate it.” 

Zed chuckles. “I bet. Still the mayor and chief of police?” 

He remembers? Addison looks at him, confused. “How’d you know that?” 

Zed gives her a sarcastic-looking smirk. “I’ve had a couple of run ins with your dad over the years. He hates me.” 

Addison shrugs. “They hate most people and things. Including me, apparently.” 

Zed’s smirk softens into a sad smile. “It’s they’re loss. You’re…perfect.” 

Her heart stops now, actually, her breath catching in her throat. 

His voice rings in her head, perfect and deep, calling her perfect. And pretty. Oh god, he’s said so many wonderful compliments about her! 

Could it be possible that he might like her too? 

No, no. That’s ridiculous. Absurd. Insane! 

Zed Necrodopolis stands so far from her level that she can’t even see it. If there were some arbitrary ranking system, he’d be at the top, and she’d be well into the thousands. 

“Addison?” Zed asks, snapping her out of her reverie. 

She looks up at him, eyes wide in surprise and embarrassment. The second of which ends up being very common when she’s around him. God…

“Yeah?” 

“You okay?” He looks so cute when he’s worried about her. His eyebrows raise and scrunch together, and his gorgeous brown eyes shift over her face with such concern. Concern for her! She could just melt. “You got all spacey when we were talking about your parents.” 

He thinks she zoned out because of that. Huh. It was better than him knowing she was lost in Zed-land for the zillionth time. 

She decides to ride out the ‘terrible parents’ train for a little bit longer. Long enough that he doesn’t find out what she was actually thinking of. 

With a soft smile, Addison says, “I’m okay. Just lost in thought. You know how it goes.” She pauses. She’s pretty sure he doesn’t, actually. From what she’s heard, Zed’s only got his dad. And from what she’s seen, he’s  _ awesome _ . 

So like an idiot, she backtracks. “Or maybe you don’t! Who am I to assume your living situation. I mean, your dad is so cool and nice.” 

Wait…

It sounds worse, much much worse now that she tried to justify herself. And she can tell too, with the way his eyes widen and eyebrows jump in pure surprise. 

“That sounds super creepy, I swear I’m not creepy, I’ve just seen him at like all of your football games up in the stands cheering with Zoey!” She can’t stop the words vomiting out of her mouth anymore. “Do you think it’s weird I know your sister’s name? I'm not trying to be weird or creepy, she’s in my cheer classes here every Tuesday and Saturday.” 

She grabs a coffee mug, filled with her tea that’s no longer hot. “I’m gonna go now see you tonight!” 

She turns and hightails it out of there, rushing down the hall and to her assigned room for the afternoon. She completely ignored his stammered, “Uh,” fleeing the scene of the most embarrassing moment of her life. 

She slams the room door closed, pushing her back against the wood with a heavy sigh. That went terribly. There were no if’s, and’s, or but’s about it. She made a complete fool of herself! No, that’s an understatement. Words can’t describe how terribly she had messed up. And there is absolutely no way she can face him now. Not now, not ever again. 

Addison can’t think of a single reason why she didn’t stop the absolute shit from spewing from her mouth. Her whole chest inflames with the heat of embarrassment, and it doesn’t take long for her to realize her hands are shaking—actually, literally shaking. 

Part of her wants to cry. But that’d be even worse than what just happened. Mrs. Lee, the camp counselor coordinator (CCC), would come around soon to see that Zed and Addison were in bed. If she walked in on Addison amidst a breakdown, well nothing good would come from that. They might send her home! Or worse, do a ‘Crisis Intervention’ like they did with the Shadowites. Oh goodness, what if they somehow found out she was freaking out over Zed and ‘chaperoned’ a ‘Crisis Intervention’ between them?

It drives enough fear into her that she forces herself to be okay. At least for now. 

Addison changed into the pajamas she’d stuffed into her backpack earlier that day. Pajamas being a stretch, seeing as she only packed a pair of old running shorts and a homemade tank top her and her older cousin made several years ago. 

She sits on the makeshift bed, covered in cheap but fresh linens. Her tea helps her calm down from the kitchen disaster. Her phone is locked away in some other part of the house, with everyone else’s, but there are some gentle instrumentals quietly in the background, most likely coming from downstairs. 

Only a few inklings of sunlight peak in from her drawn shades. The only other source of light is coming from the lamp next to the bed, soft and orange. It’s weirdly nice. 

The cabins only have one light at night, and it’s a grossly ominous singular white light bulb hanging from the ceiling, bright enough that they can just barely not trip and fall in the late hours of the night. The cabins also don’t have any air conditioning, just loud, rusty, old fans that barely circulate around the room. 

In short, Addison can get used to this, every Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. The Big House life isn’t so bad. 

She takes the book she’d brought with her for the night,  _ Jane Eyre _ , out of her bookbag and settles on the bed. A nice story and some warm tea is the perfect equation for a restful sleep. 

_ “Yes, sir, I will advertise immediately: and meantime, I suppose—” I was going to say, “I suppose I may stay here, till I find another shelter to betake myself to:” but I stopped, feeling it would not do to risk a long sentence, for my voice was not quite under command. _

_ “In about a month I hope to be a bridegroom,” continued Mr. Rochester; “and in the interim, I shall myself look out for employment and an asylum for you.” _

_ “Thank you, sir; I am sorry to give—” _

_ “Oh, no need to apologise! I consider that when a dependent does her duty as well as you have done yours, she has a sort of claim upon her employer for any little assistance he can conveniently render her; indeed I have already, through my future mother-in-law, heard of a place that I think will suit: it is to undertake the education of the five daughters of Mrs. Dionysius O’Gall of Bitternutt Lodge, Connaught, Ireland. You’ll like Ireland, I think: they’re such warm-hearted people there, they say.” _

_ “It is a long way off, sir.” _

_ “No matter—a girl of your sense will not object to the voyage or the distance.” _

_ “Not the voyage, but the distance: and then the sea is a barrier—” _

_ “From what, Jane?” _

_ “From England and from Thornfield: and—” _

_ “Well?” _

_ “From you, sir.” _

_ I said this almost involuntarily, and, with as little sanction of free will, my tears gushed out. I did not cry so as to be heard, however; I avoided sobbing. The thought of Mrs. O’Gall and Bitternutt Lodge struck cold to my heart; and colder the thought of all the brine and foam, destined, as it seemed, to rush between me and the master at whose side I now walked, and coldest the remembrance of the wider ocean—wealth, caste, custom intervened between me and what I naturally and inevitably loved. _

_ “It is a long way,” I again said.  _

_ “It is, to be sure; and when you get to Bitternutt Lodge, Connaught, Ireland, I shall never see you again, Jane: that’s morally certain. I never go over to Ireland, not having myself much of a fancy for the country. We have been good friends, Jane; have we not?” _

_ “Yes, sir.” _

_ “And when friends are on the eve of separation, they like to spend the little time that remains to them close to each other. Come! we’ll talk over the voyage and the parting quietly half-an-hour or so, while the stars enter into their shining life up in heaven yonder: here is the chestnut tree: here is the bench at its old roots. Come, we will sit there in peace to-night, though we should never more be destined to sit there together.” He seated me and himself. _

_ “It is a long way to Ireland, Janet, and I am sorry to send my little friend on such weary travels: but if I can’t do better, how is it to be helped? Are you anything akin to me, do you think, Jane?” _

_ I could risk no sort of answer by this time: my heart was still.  _

A knock on her bedroom door startles her out of the world of early nineteenth century England. If she hadn’t been drinking from her tea, she surely would’ve spilled it with how hard she jumped. 

Sliding the bookmark back into place, she scrambles off the bed and to the door, knowing Mrs. Lee won’t just let herself in. Addison manages to put her mug down on the desk right next to the door before pulling it open. 

She blinks in surprise when, instead of a middle aged, short, peppy woman, she sees tall, hunky and handsome. She stares at his chest for a second too long, forcefully dragging her eyes up from his chest to his face. He looks really good, she just wants to stare at his body for a little bit longer, even though she knows that’d be really,  _ really _ creepy. 

In the minutes since she fled the kitchen, he’d changed from his faded band tee shirt and shorts into a white tank top and blue sweatpants. 

When her eyes meet his, he gives her a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I-I just—I couldn’t like—Shit, hold on.”

Addison’s eyebrows rise and furrow. She hadn’t been expecting him, not at all, but him being nervous was making  _ her _ nervous. And he looks  _ really _ nervous. 

Maybe he was there to tell her he didn’t want to do Night Shift with her. That she’s too weird, too creepy, too  _ Addison _ and he can’t deal with it—with her. 

Zed clears his throat, the sound enough to startle her out of the beginnings of her spiral. 

“I’m sorry, I just,” he pauses, then takes a deep breath before continuing, “I wanted to tell you that I didn’t think it was weird. What happened in the kitchen, earlier.” 

Oh? 

He scratches the back of his neck and chuckles, albeit awkwardly. “Like yeah it was a little odd but the kind of odd that was really cute. And I-I didn’t want you to think that I thought it was weird, so I…came to let you know. Which I know is a little weird but I felt really bad ‘cause you probably thought you’d messed up and I didn’t want you thinking you messed up.” 

He pauses, his eyes looking over her head. “Not to like, assume your thoughts or how you’re feeling. I mean, you probably weren’t even thinking about it, I was just so hung up on the possibility and…” He sighs, looking down at the ground. “Well this is awkward.” 

She blinks, stunned, before the giggles get the best of her. She doesn’t even understand exactly  _ why _ , but something about it is really sweet. He was so worried about her.  _ Her! _ And he’s complimented her three times in the entire afternoon! 

“It’s okay, I think…it’s kinda cute.” She whispers the last part, her eyes darting down to avoid his gaze. 

She can’t help herself and shyly glances up, catching his wistful smile. The only thought running through her mind is how he’s not immediately repulsed by the idea of her calling him cute. He actually looks kind of happy about it!

They both startle when a voice asks, “What’s going on here?” Zed jumps back, much to Addison’s dismay. She liked having him so close, even though being in his presence freaked her out. Mrs. Lee materializes next to Zed, who looks away from both her and Addison, eyes focusing on the doorframe. 

“You both know you aren’t allowed in each other’s rooms,” Lee goes on. 

“We were just talking,” Addison says. “He wasn’t in my room.”

Lee looks back and forth between them skeptically. She hums, then says, “Well alright then. Let’s wrap this up so you two can get some rest before tonight.” 

Addison glances at Zed, slightly worried once she notices he’s still avoiding eye contact. His cheeks tinge pink, and she smiles at his embarrassment. It’s really cute that he’s so flustered. 

But, to avoid making this all very awkward, Addison says a simple, “Sweet dreams, Zed. I’ll see you tonight.” 

He glances at her, giving her an awkward smile. “Uh, sweet dreams.” 

There’s a beat where he stands there, smiling, before stepping back and trudging off to his room. Addison watches as he goes, a wistful smile on her face. She always loved bold, confident, funny Zed, but now she was seeing a whole new side of him. A stumbling, clumsy side that was surprisingly even more endearing than usual. 

Lee clears her throat, pulling Addison out of her Zed daze. Addison smiles sweetly at Lee. “Well, I’m off to bed now.” 

Lee fixed her with a strange kind of smirk, like she knows something that not even Addison knows. It’s slightly unsettling, but Addison doesn’t let it show on her face. 

“I’ll be back in five minutes to lock you in,” Lee says. She turns and walks away before Addison can even say an “Okay.” 

Addison backs into her room, closing the door quietly. 

What a strange interaction. Zed called her cute.  _ She _ called Zed cute. And he had been thinking about her. He was worried! About  _ her _ ! 

She gets back in bed with a blissful smile. The edge of  _ Jane Eyre _ digs into her back. She nearly forgot she was in the middle of reading before Zed showed up. 

She sits up, pulling the book from under her and searches for where she stopped. 

_ “Because,” he said, “I sometimes have a queer feeling with regard to you—especially when you are near me, as now: it is as if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in the corresponding quarter of your little frame. And if that boisterous Channel, and two hundred miles or so of land come broad between us, I am afraid that cord of communion will be snapt; and then I’ve a nervous notion I should take to bleeding inwardly. As for you,—you’d forget me.” _

Addison shuts the book. Her heart pounds at the words she’d just read. Words can’t describe how unsettling it all is. How very…cliche, that Zed shows up at her door now, showing so many signs of potentially liking her back. And then for the book she’s been reading all summer to talk about strange feelings, strange  _ romantic  _ feelings, at the exact same time. 

Was it fate? Destiny? She wasn’t sure. 

Maybe she was reading too into it. 

Whatever it was, it was weird. She puts the book to the side, getting under the covers and not thinking about Zed being her Rochester (but much less creepy), not thinking about the possibility of him having feelings for her like she has for him. 

No, she absolutely does not fall asleep thinking about Zed, and  _ especially  _ doesn’t have dreams of them together, hanging out in each other’s dorms, getting froyo, going on long drives to nowhere. 

She does. She’s so screwed. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> You’ve made it this far! If you wanna stick around make sure you click the subscribe button, drop a kudos, leave a comment, whatever! Check me out on tumblr for story updates or random posts or whatever. My username is [zedforprez](https://zedforprez.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Until next time, peace!


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